As of Something Burning
by cabbageoriley
Summary: When Stiles is away, it's up to Derek to find out what's going on with his brooding teenage son.
1. Training

Nathan slams against the ground and releases a harsh string of coughs. "Holy crap, Dad! You freakin' trying to kill me?" The fourteen year old twin glares at his father.

Derek crosses his arms as he leans against one of the trees in the clearing where he is currently training his human son in self defense. "Well, if you would focus…"

Derek first started training his son four years ago when Nathan began to express his regret of being 'human'. The last thing he, as a father, wanted was for one of his children to feel excluded from the pack. His pack – his family – had grown so much, and he finally had a reason to be the best he could be. With a werewolf daughter, two twin boys – one a werewolf and the other not, Stiles, and the rest of the pack, being Alpha wasn't always the easiest job.

"GAH! I'm trying to focus! But with you kicking my -…"

"Nathan! Language!" Nathan and Derek are spitting images of each other, and both are as stubborn as each other, too. The two glare at one another until Derek concedes, rolls his eyes, and sighs. No other member of the pack –well, other than Stiles- would dare defy the Alpha like that, but Nathan just doesn't feel that primal instinct to submit.

"Ok," Derek begins, lowering himself to sit on the ground near his son. "Talk to me. You've been so angry lately. I want to know what's up."

The defiant teen continues to glare at his father from where he had been thrown to the ground moments earlier. He doesn't want to tell his father anything. Why should he? They've never really talked about anything before.

"What is it, Nate?" Derek places a gentle hand on Nathan's leg. The boy jerks it away, and Derek pulls back his hand as if he has been struck. "Is it school? Deaton? That magic thing you've been working on? What?"

Nathan finally looks up into his father's eyes and releases a huff of breath. "Nothing, Dad," he spits out and moves to get up. "It's nothing; don't even worry about it."

Nathan walks back toward the trail that leads back to the Hale house. Suddenly, his father is blocking his path. Derek eyes him softly. "No, I want to know." Derek watches as Nathan looks down to the ground. He gently lifts his son's chin up to secure eye contact. "How can I help unless I know what's wrong?"

Normally, when it comes to the twins, Logan comes to Derek, and Nathan goes to Stiles. Derek can easily break through Logan's sarcasm and decipher his jokes when that twin is upset, and Stiles can hurtle over Nathan's brooding walls and stubbornness when the teen is like this. Unfortunately for Derek, Stiles is gone for a three week trip. He's off somewhere with the Sheriff meeting some distant relative that wanted to talk about the 'good ole days'. He's only been gone for a week, and Derek is losing his mind. Derek started counting down the days to his return before he even left. In Stiles' absence, it's up to Derek to be in complete control and find out what's wrong with his child.

Nathan lets out another huff and turns from his dad back to the clearing. "You'll probably think it's stupid," the teen growls.

"Try me."

A few feet away, Nathan turns and glares at his dad as if to see if the offer is fake or not before spilling his guts. "It's about a girl."


	2. Listen

Derek almost chokes. A girl? This can't be happening. All he can think about is Kate. He was close to Nathan's age when he had gotten caught up with Kate Argent, the woman who massacred his entire family. Suddenly, as he looks at his son, he doesn't just see the similarities between them; he sees him. It's as if he's looking into a mirror and seeing into his own past.

He knows that his son is still talking, but he can't seem to process any of the words he is saying. He is too lost in his own thoughts. The teen continues and Derek wishes, not for the first time, that Stiles didn't go on that trip.

"… And she goes back and forth like she can't make up her mind. And Laura said I just need to be patient…"

Laura. Maybe if he had asked for his own sister's advice all those years ago things would have been different. She was smart. She would have told him not to get involved with the Argents. They say they go by 'The Code', but do they really? And, Derek found out the hard way that they don't always follow their precious 'Code'. He found that out when he was told "There's been a fire."

…

Laura is holding Derek's hand as they wait in the lobby of the police department. Everything happened so fast. One minute he had been sitting in chemistry absentmindedly scribbling pictures in the margins of his book while the teacher went on and on about something no one cared about, and the next, he was in the principal's office and being rushed out the school door.

He's shocked. They both are. Neither of them knows how many of their family members have survived or how many have died. They know it is bad, though, because Laura is consciously fighting to suppress the urges that come with being Alpha. That means their father is dead. Their mother is dead. Their oldest brother… Dead.

…

"… so, now I don't really know what to do, but she makes me so mad!"

Derek realizes suddenly that his son has come to the end of his thought. He hasn't been paying any attention. Nathan is staring at him expecting some sage advice that will make everything better. All Derek can force out is "Um."

"Um?" Nathan's face completely changes. "That's all you can say to me? Were you even listening?!" he screams.

"I'm sorry, Nate. I…"

"I don't even know why I talked to you! You never listen!" Nathan's face is turning bright red, and he is clenching his fists as tight as he can. "You NEVER listen! You just send me off to Dad and let him deal with me."

"That's because he understands you better than I do. He…"

"Maybe if you tried every once in a while you could understand me, too!" Nate is furious. He screams, unable to verbalize what he is thinking. He stands there and vibrates with anger in front of his father as he tries with all his might to find the words he wants to say. But, when he needs the words the most, that's always when they seem to fail.

Derek reaches out and puts a hand on Nathan's shoulder. "Nate…"

The teen sucks in a breath through his nose. With his teeth clenched, he looks his father directly in the eyes. "I hate you." He pulls away from Derek and storms back to the house.

Derek stands in the clearing completely dumbfounded by Nathan's words. He swallows, shakes his head, and slowly makes his way back to the house.


	3. Cry on my Shoulder

Stiles blinks at the time on his phone before answering it. It's past midnight, and he has been sound asleep since 9:30. He thinks he should take trips away from home more often. He finally feels awake enough to answer and puts the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Stiles."

His husband's voice is thick and tired. Stiles knows that sound immediately. He hasn't heard it too often, but he knows it comes after Derek has been crying. "What's wrong?"

"Nate said he hated me, today."

Stiles sits up in bed. "So? He's said that a hundred times before. I'm sure he didn't…"

"He meant it this time. I could hear his heartbeat. He wasn't lying." Derek's voice is slow and full of pain. It's the worst feeling in the world to know that your own child hates you.

"What did you do to him?"

"Me?! I didn't do anything!" Derek tries to defend himself.

"He had to have a reason, Der." Stiles waits for Derek to answer. He can hear him growling and mumbling, but no actual words come out.

"There's a girl. He wanted to talk to someone about it, and you weren't here. I pushed him to talk to me."

"If you push him to talk about it, he'll clam up."

Derek shakes his head even though Stiles can't see it over the phone. "No, he talked to me. I just…"

"Did you wolf out on him?" Stiles asks.

"No!" Derek rubs a hand across his face and down his neck. "He talked to me about it, but I… I didn't listen."

Derek sounds like a little kid who is forced to admit what he has done wrong to his parents. Stiles can't help but smile even though he is nervous about the situation. "Why didn't you listen?"

"I panicked the minute he said 'girl'. All I could think about was what happened with Kate."

Stiles puts his feet up in bed and hugs his arms around his knees. "Der…"

"I got lost in my own head. I kept thinking about everything that I did, and I don't want him to make the same mistakes."

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Stiles questions. "You can put him on the phone."

"No. He already said that all I ever do is send him to you. I need to talk to him on my own. I just needed some advice."

"Well," Stiles begins to think of what Derek needs to know, "sit down with him. Do it somewhere he feels comfortable- like his room or the kitchen or something. Make sure he knows you care and that you're going to listen this time."

Derek huffs. "I'll do that."

"Make sure it's just you and him. He's paranoid that someone will listen in on the conversation."

Stiles and Derek continue talking until two in the morning. Derek finally feels confident enough to attempt talking to his son. "Thanks, Stiles."

"No problem, Sourwolf."

"I love you."

"Love you, too."

Derek walks into Nathan's bedroom. He's sitting at his desk reading over one of Deaton's books. Derek takes a deep breath and sits down the plate of cookies in front of him.

Nathan looks up at him suspiciously. "Peace offering?"

"Maybe."

"You've been talking to Dad."

"Maybe." Derek closes the door and sits down on the bed. He waits to see what Nathan does. He thinks back to what Stiles told him last night- 'If he eats one, you're good. If not, you might as well stop because he's not going to talk.' It's amazing how Stiles actually makes peace offerings work. Stiles has done this to him a hundred times before, and he never realized what was going on. Nathan picks up a cookie and spins his chair around so he can face his father. He takes a bite of the cookie, a small one but still a bite, and Derek breathes a sigh of relief.

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to say I was sorry. You were willing to open up to me yesterday, and I didn't listen. I shouldn't have done that."

Nathan takes another bite. "You never listen to me."

"Yes, I do!" Derek tries to stop himself, but he can't. He forces his eyes shut and breathes in deeply. "Why do you think I never listen to you?"

"Because you don't."

"That's not a reason."

"Yes, it is, Dad. You don't listen to me." Nathan spins back around in his chair and places the cookie on the desk.

"I'll try to listen to you more often." Derek stands up and puts his hand on his son's shoulder. "It's just… you're so much like me. When I can't even understand myself sometimes, how am I supposed to understand you? It scares me."

"Nothing scares you, Dad."

"I've been scared for the majority of my life, Nate. Everything scares me."

Nathan spins back around and gets up so he can sit on his bed. "But you're the Alpha."

"It doesn't matter. Things still scare me… like what's going on with you and the girl. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Quinn wouldn't hurt me. She won't make up her darn mind, but she wouldn't hurt me." Nathan looks over at his desk and quickly gets back up and grabs the plate of cookies. When he has returned to the bed, Derek speaks.

"I didn't think Kate would hurt me either."


	4. Past

Nathan had never heard about Kate before. None of Derek's children had. It's not something that he brings up very often… if ever. Laura, Logan, and Nathan knew that they didn't have any grandparents on their dad's side, but it wasn't anything they felt comfortable asking about. Derek would close up when anyone even got close to talking about the subject.

Derek fought his way through the whole conversation. He started out slowly and weaved around the topic for a few minutes, but he finally was able to open up to his son about it. Nathan sat on his bed with one leg folded up beneath him and the other pulled up so he could rest his arm on it as he watched his father, sitting in a mirror image, speak about his past.

It was a horrible story, and, by the end of the conversation, both of them were close to tears. Nathan listened as his father spoke of his relationship with Kate… the betrayal… the fire. He listened as Derek spoke about his guilt. Nathan tried to tell him that it wasn't his fault, that he couldn't have known what she was planning, but Derek cut him off and continued talking.

"So, when you told me about 'a girl' I freaked."

"But, Dad, she wouldn't do that. I'm not a werewolf; she has no idea about any of that stuff. She's just some girl…"

Derek pats his hand on Nate's knee. "Just be careful. I don't want something to happen and then you carry around the same guilt I have for my whole life."

"Nothing bad is going to happen. I promise." Nathan leans forward and hugs his dad. "I love you, Dad."

Derek squeezes him tight. "I love you, too." He pulls away and grabs a cookie off the plate. "So, tell me about her."

Nathan sighs and grabs another cookie as well. "Her name's Quinn Blackwood. She's gorgeous. I never thought she'd ever want to have anything to do with me, though. I mean, yeah, I'm pretty hot, but she's… she's like on another whole level. But, she's been talking to me. She kinda goes back and forth on whether or not she really wants to be with me or not, but… gosh, Dad, she's amazing."

Derek nods and smiles. "Give her some time. She'll eventually decide what she wants."

"That's what Laura said, but it's hard to be patient. I just want her to fully want me already."

The next day, Nathan comes running through the front door so fast that Derek swears it almost swings off of its hinges. There is a smile on his face like none that Derek has ever seen before.

"What's going on?"

"I…" Nathan flops down on the couch beside his father. "I asked her out. I asked Quinn out, and she said yes. She smiled and shook her head and said yes."

"Good for you, Nate."

"I can't believe it! I'm so excited right now."

"I can tell." Derek turns so he can see his son better. "So, what are you going to do for the date?"

Nathan's face goes blank. "What? I… I have no idea. I just said I would see her Friday." He leans in closer to his father. "What am I going to do?!"

"Well, don't panic. Geeze, you're starting to remind me of your Dad. He always gets worked up over nothing." Derek smiles as he thinks of his husband.

"What do I do, Dad?! You got Dad to fall in love with you, right? What did you do on your first date with him?"

And, whatever Nathan says to Stiles later, Derek does not blush. "Nothing I want you doing." Derek shifts a little bit, suddenly missing Stiles even more than ever.


	5. First

Nathan slowly walks down the stairs, and Derek immediately covers his nose with his sleeve.

"You bought cologne?" Derek murmurs.

"Yeah." Nate stands awkwardly in front of his father.

"I think you used too much."

"No, I didn't. It's just because you're a werewolf. You can smell it more." Nate walks over to the couch and grabs his jacket. The movement forces more of the scent particles Derek's way, and he steps back. He waves his free hand in front of his face, but the cologne is still attacking him.

"Nate, how much did you use?"

"Not much." He shifts uncomfortably. "But, then I dropped the bottle. It… it cracked and spilled everywhere." Derek covers his nose with the other hand and tries to pretend his eyes aren't watering. "I cleaned it up; I swear. It'll fade more, too. I just… I gotta go, or I'll be late." He puts his jacket on and shifts nervously from one foot to the other.

Derek takes a breath and uncovers his nose and mouth. "You look good."

Nathan nods a 'thank you' and starts to leave. He stops by the door and turns back to his dad. He quickly and awkwardly hugs him before darting outside and jumping on his bike.

The Alpha chokes back a gag and goes upstairs to get the cleaning supplies.

Nathan quickly pedals his bike across town. He doesn't want to imagine how stupid he looks on the small little bike. When he finally gets there, he stands outside the Italian restaurant and waits. Fifteen minutes later he is still waiting. He's about to leave when a car slowly pulls up in front of the building.

His heart skips a beat when he sees her get out of the car. Her bright blue eyes look like they are deep enough he could drown in them. Her blond hair drapes gracefully over her shoulders, and her shirt dips down just enough that… Nathan clears his throat. When he starts to move closer to her, he suddenly realizes that he can't move. Oh gosh, he's stuck, too nervous to move. What is he going to do? …

"Hi, Nate," Quinn smiles as she threads her hair behind her ear.

"Haaa- um, Quinn, hi." Nathan blushes and reminds himself – _words, Nate, use them_.

Quinn giggles and steps closer to him. "Sorry I'm late. My mom was being protective and… I thought we'd never get here."

"I… um… glad you did."

She smiles. "Me, too." She takes his hand and says, "Ready?" She watches as he nods his head, and she pulls him inside.

Stiles and his dad are talking to each other as they pull up to the Hale house. He is so glad to be home. Yeah, going to bed early and sleeping in late is AMAZING, but he has seriously missed his family and the rest of the pack. Spending time with his dad and this family was nice, but he wants nothing more than to be back home.

As he turns his attention to the house, he suddenly sees Derek on the front porch. He is on his hands and knees, and it looks like he's having a hard time breathing. Stiles is immediately out of the car and running toward him.

"Derek!"

The Alpha looks up and waves his arms around frantically. "I'm fine," he gasps. "Don't get too close."

But, it's too late; Stiles is already at the porch. Stiles doubles over and covers his nose and mouth with his hands. "Oh my gosh, what is that?!"

Derek staggers forward. "Nate had a date."

"Had a date… as in… that smell killed her didn't it?"

Derek laughs and hugs Stiles. "No, she's fine; I think." He turns to look at the house. "He dropped the bottle of cologne. I tried to clean it up, I really did, but I started feeling… woozy."

"Wussy's more like it," the Sheriff laughs as he walks up to them. "I don't know how you survive without me. Wait out here; I'll clean it up."

"No, Mr…"

Mr. Stilinski waves Derek off and opens the front door. Derek and Stiles wait for no longer than thirty seconds before he comes staggering back out.

"I'm blind. Blind, I tell you. My lungs… they're burning. Oh sweet mother of Pete… I'm going to be sick."

All three men laugh and decide to force some of the betas to clean it up later.


	6. Eavesdrop

"You did good, Der," Stiles grins at his husband as he lies beside him in bed.

"I don't know about good, but… Better, maybe." He kisses Stiles quickly before pulling him closer.

"He talked to you. That's… That's amazing, Derek. You have to realize that."

"I do realize that, and I'm happy about it. I'm glad he finally opened up a little." He smiles as Stiles finally moves over and curls into him. He rests his head on top of Stiles'. "But now that you're back, he'll go back to you."

"You'll just have to keep trying to make sure he knows he can talk to you." Stiles sits up- he does some of his best thinking sitting upright-, but Derek whines a little bit, so he lies back down. "I never knew he was so upset about us talking to them the way we do."

"It's not like we're choosing favorites."

"Exactly! We love them both equally, but that's just how it's always been. Since they were born, you took Logan, and I took Nate. It's just… We…"

"We knew how to best handle them." Derek tilts his head up as he hears the sound of crunching leaves. "He's home." Before he can stop him, Stiles has jumped out of bed and dashed down the stairs.

Stiles is eagerly standing in the living room when Nathan opens the door. "So, how was it?"

Nathan is taken back when he sees that his dad is home. "Dad?!" He is so happy to see him that he doesn't even mind when Stiles pulls him into a hug. "I missed you so much."

"Being with Dad wasn't that bad, though, was it?" He watches as Nate shrugs his shoulders and sighs, but then he smiles, so Stiles knows his time away wasn't that bad. "So… How was your date?"

"Fine."

"Oh come on, Nate. I want details."

"It was fine. We ate and then went to see a movie. That's it." Nathan hugs his dad again and then pulls away so he can go upstairs.

Stiles groans and mopes to the couch. When Derek comes downstairs, he sits down beside him. "You didn't think he'd really tell you what happened, did you?"

"No."

"But you know who he will tell…"

"His brother."

Both of them curl up on the couch and start listening in on the conversation going on upstairs.

"You dog!"

"Logan, shut up." Nathan rolls his eyes. "She was the one who kissed me."

"I never thought you'd be the first one to have a girlfriend," Logan marvels. "I mean, you're pretty good looking and all, but… Seriously, who wouldn't want a piece of this?" Logan waves his hands around his body.

Nathan just huffs and shakes his head. "She's not my girlfriend. We went out on one date."

"And, she said," Logan raises his voice in order to sound like a girl, "'let's do this again sometime'."

Nathan picks up a baseball from a shelf and throws it at his brother. "She did not sound like that."

"You mean she sounds manly?" He tries to lower his voice. "'Let's do this a…AHH!"

Nathan tackles him to the ground. "She certainly didn't sound like that either."

"Okay, okay." Logan starts laughing. "Whatever you say."


	7. Tempt

Nathan feels really stupid being seen at the putt-putt golf range- it's not really his scene-, but he'll sacrifice his image for Quinn. He'll sacrifice anything for Quinn. Infatuation doesn't even begin to cover his obsession with her. They've been seeing each other for almost three weeks now, and things are getting… serious.

Quinn squeals when she makes a hole in one on the last hole. She does a little happy dance and prances over to Nathan. She gives him a quick peck on the lips and then smiles. "Your turn."

Nathan finally putts his ball into the hole. He shakes his head. "Five over par in miniature golf. Wow."

"Aww, it's okay, babe." Quinn hugs him. "You seemed a little distracted, though." She slowly takes his arm and pulls it around her waist. She grabs his hand and cups it at the base of her shorts. She rises up on her toes and whispers into his ear…

Nathan crashes down onto the bed, and Quinn follows after him. She sits down on his lap and quickly unbuttons his shirt. He feels like his heart is about to beat out of his chest.

"Oh wow, um…" He watches as she starts to take her shirt off. "Quinn, don't you… don't you think maybe…"

"Shh…" She leans down and presses her lips against his.

"Oh… umm…" Nathan's mind goes completely blank, and he begins to run fully on instinct. He takes her head in his hands and kisses her forcefully.

They kiss quite passionately for a while, but soon Quinn begins to unzip Nathan's jeans. He about chokes and hurries to pull her hand away.

"What's wrong?"

"Don't you… um, don't you think we're going a little fast?"

"No." And then she's trying to start back up again.

"No, wait. Don't you want to wait? I mean… we've only been dating for…"

"Three weeks is more than enough time." She smiles, and, to be honest, it's a pretty crazy looking smile. "You're not scared are you?"

"Me?!" He hates how high his voice sounds. "No, no, no, no… I… I'm fine. Perfect even… I just thought… maybe… you…"

"Nope, I'm fine."

"Oh, okay then…"

"Okay then."


	8. Use

Nathan slams through the front door and stomps through the house. Derek and Stiles look at each other and decide whether or not they want to say anything. They turn around so they can see him. Nathan is walking up the stairs as Logan is walking down them. Logan suddenly gets a horrified look on his face and covers his nose.

"You did it. You totally did it, didn't you? And you didn't shower. Dude, that is so disgusting. You know we can sme…"

Nathan growls deep in his throat just like Derek. "Shut up. Don't. Say. Anything, or I swear I'll rip your throat out. I don't know how, but I swear I will."

Logan leans against the rail and lets Nathan walk by.

Stiles looks over at his husband. "Oh boy."

Nathan stays in the shower for close to an hour. He violently scrubs every inch of his body under the scalding hot water. When all the hot water is gone, he finally gets out of the shower and dries off.

Derek, Stiles, and Logan watch as Nathan stomps down the stairs. He completely by-passes them and storms into the kitchen. They can hear him searching through the cabinets and throwing pans and things onto the countertop.

"I wonder what happened," Logan asks.

"Hard to tell," Derek says. "Stiles, maybe you should talk to him."

"Yeah, I'll try to talk to him once he comes out of the kitchen."

Thirty minutes later the three men in the living room hear the kitchen timer go off. They can hear Nathan moving things around again. Soon, he comes back into the living room. Stiles quickly stands up.

"Do you want to talk?"

"Yeah," Nathan lowers his head, "just… can I talk to Dad instead?"

Stiles frowns clearly shocked. He looks over at Derek who is just as surprised. Stiles nods. "Sure, yeah, you don't have to talk to me."

"Dad…" Nathan turns to Derek. "I…" he lifts the plate he is holding up so his father can see. "I made cookies. I thought maybe we…"

Derek is immediately standing. "Sure. Come on. Let's go up to your room where we can talk in private."

"Ok."

Once they get upstairs, Nathan puts the plate down and slumps onto his bed.

"What's wrong, Nate?" Derek sits down beside him.

Nathan looks up at him and has tears in his eyes. "She was using me."

Derek sighs and shakes his head. "I'm sorry."

"We were… Oh gosh, this is so embarrassing."

"It's okay."

"We were… doing things. Then, the next thing I know she's reaching for something in her pocket. She tried to… oh my gosh… she tried to take a video so she could show it to one of her friends."

Derek is completely shocked. How can this be happening to his son? This is horrible. He has no idea what to say to make things better.

"She doesn't even like me. She just wanted to have sex with me to get back at one of her friends who does like me. It's all because she didn't get invited to her friend's party."

"Nate, I'm sorry." Derek clears his throat and puts his hand on Nathan's knee. "I have absolutely no idea what to say."

"It's okay, Dad. I don't know what to say either." Nathan tries to smile. "You tried to warn me, and I didn't listen. I am so stupid."

"You're not stupid. You couldn't have known what she was doing. I didn't think she was up to anything. I just warned you because that's something I get nervous about. I never thought she'd actually… Oh geeze, Nate. I'm sorry."

"Me, too."


	9. Easy

"I'm going to kill her!" Logan shouts as he stands in the bedroom looking at his brother. "That little… HUSSY!"

"Logan, calm down." Nathan rolls over so he can look up at his twin. "It's over now, so… Just forget about it."

"How am I supposed to forget about it?" Logan falls down on the bed. "She used you, Nate! For three whole weeks, she was… using you! And, you were so oblivious. She was probably laughing maniacally behind your back the whole time. She knew she was getting away with it. She probably thought you were so stupid. It was so easy to fool you…"

"Is this supposed to be a pep talk? Because, seriously, it's not working." Nathan rolls his eyes and covers his face with a pillow.

"Too bad you're easy."

Nathan sits up and glares at his brother. "Easy? You think I'm easy?"

"Well, yeah. Three weeks is a little fast, don't you think?"

He lets a broken laugh leave his lips. "Logan, please, don't act like you know anything about what happened tonight. You don't. You really… really don't."

Logan stares at Nate. "Wait." The puzzle pieces finally click into place in his mind. "I'm going to kill her! I won't even use my claws, just my bare hands. I'm going to find her, loom over her like Dad does- yeah, I'll even get a leather jacket like his so I can look more… loomy. Then, I'll… I'm gonna… I'll rip her arm off and then beat her with it!"

Nathan covers his face with his hands. It's so like Logan to get worked up like this. "Logan, stop."

Logan turns back to his brother. When he speaks, his voice isn't high and frantic anymore. It's low and desperate. "I'm your brother." He sits down and pulls Nathan into a hug. "I'm your brother, and I'm supposed to protect you."

"Why? Because I'm human? Don't think for a minute that I couldn't kick your butt any day."

"Because I'm the oldest."

Nathan can't help it that he giggles. He's had a hard day, and he's tired. Don't judge him. "By what, like two minutes?!"

"Still…" Logan refuses to laugh. "You're my little brother, so I need to protect you."

Nathan feels his eyes getting wet. "Yeah, well, you're an idiot sometimes, so I need to protect you."

"We'll protect each other. From now on, we won't let anything bad happen to each other. Deal?" Logan holds out his hand.

Nathan nods. "Deal." They do their silly little secret handshake that they've had since they were four and hug each other again.

"Love you, bro."

"Yeah… Love you, too."

When Logan wakes up the next morning, he and his twin are clinging to each other like they did when they were little kids. It's a beautiful moment, so of course he has to ruin it by punching Nathan in the chest.

"Ahh!" Nathan screams before growling. "You freakin' idiot! What the heck was that for?"

"You looked peaceful."

"I was sound asleep, so yeah…" Nathan rubs his hand across his chest. It feels like he's having a heart attack or something. "Geeze, Logan." He watches as Logan turns his head toward the door. "What?"

"Laura." He gets up and heads toward the bathroom to get a shower.

Soon after Logan leaves, Laura pokes her head in the door. "Hey, Nate."

"Hey."

She comes in and sits down beside him on the bed. "I am so sorry."

"Don't… Laura, it's not your fault. It's not Logan's fault. It's not Dad's fault." She waits for him to continue. Nathan sighs. "It's not my fault."

"Good. Now you just gotta believe that."

"I do, sis. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Nathan hugs her. "I talked to Dad a little before… I'll be fine. This is… This is nothing compared to what could have happened. I realize it's not the end of the world or anything."

"But it still hurts." Laura looks at him with sympathetic eyes.

"Yeah, it still hurts."


	10. Ring

Two weeks later the whole "Quinn Blackwood" ordeal is all but forgotten. Nate immediately felt better after talking to Derek, and things have been much better between them. Tonight the whole pack is having a dinner, and everyone is having an amazing time together. Well, except for Nathan's phone going off every few seconds.

Derek has finally had enough. "Nate, if I hear your phone ring one more time, I'm going to take it and crush it."

"It's not my fault! I have it on vibrate. No normal person would be able to hear it." Nathan throws his arms up in the air. Scott and the other guests look like they are trying not to laugh.

"Just stop." Derek glares at him. "We're trying to have a nice pack dinner. Your phone has been buzzing all night. I don't want to hear it again."

"But Dad!"

"Nathan," Stiles interrupts, "listen to your father."

The young boy huffs and stabs his food with his fork. His phone doesn't receive another text for quite a while, and he thinks he's going to make it. Just as Allison and Erica are placing the dessert on the table the phone starts to vibrate. Nathan gasps and tries to quickly turn it off.

"It buzzed!" Logan alerts his father.

"I know. I heard it." Derek turns his attention to Nathan. "Hand it over."

"But Dad, please… Just let me message her back."

"Her…" Logan smiles. "It's her, isn't it?"

"Nate, give it to me."

"But…"

Derek takes the phone out of Nathan's hand. He glances at the screen: _See you Friday then? ~Lycea_. "Who's Ly… I don't even know how to pronounce that name."

Logan speaks up. "It's Lycea… Kind of like 'I see ya', but…"

"Logan, quiet." Derek looks at Nathan. "You're seeing another girl? Already?"

"Not just another girl. The girl. The girl that prompted the whole Quinn thing." Logan grins.

"Logan, shut up." Nathan growls. "And, I'm not really seeing her. We just… I don't know. Dad, can I please just text her back. It won't ring again, I promise."

Derek stands there for a minute trying to decide if he wants to give the phone back or not. He silently goes over his options. He can give it back and hear it vibrate for the rest of the night, or he can keep it and hope that Nate doesn't mope around the entire night and blame him for ruining his life.

"Fine, but can you silence it or something? You check it every five seconds anyway. I just don't want to hear it anymore."

"Yes, thank you. You're awesome. Thank you." Nathan smiles as he grabs the phone and darts into the other room to text her back.

The silence doesn't even last a minute.

…

({Author's Note})

Thanks for reading! I hope you all stay tuned for the next part, 'A Family of Friends'. I start back to school this week, so I won't be able to update as quickly as I have for the past few weeks, but there will be at least 1 (if not 2) updates per week! Again, thanks for reading. I can't wait to share the next section with you! J


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